Edinburgh kicked off and despite the slippery conditions there was some good early running by Maama Molitika, carrying well.

Ben Cairns at full back for the visitors caught well from an up'n'under and good counter attacking play saw Edinburgh work their way to the Blues twenty two.

After eight minutes the Blues paid the price of a missed clearance which saw the ball spread wide to Andrew Turnbull who crossed for a try to Edinburgh. Phil Godman struck the conversion just wide.

The Blues responded, working the ball well through Robin Sowden Taylor, Ben Blair, Gareth Thomas and Tom Shanklin before being awarded a penalty and kicking for the corner. From the line out Edinburgh eventually turned the ball over and cleared.

Edinburgh attacked but couldn't add to their early try.

Shanklin showed some strong running for the try-line before the ball was again spilled backwards in the wet conditions. Eventually Nick De Luca was awarded a yellow card for coming in from the side and the Blues went for the line out. However they failed to capitalise on their momentum and the extra man.

Matt Mustchin was also sent to the bin minutes later for killing the ball and again the Blues kicked for the line out. They eventually spread the ball wide but again it was spilled forward for an Edinburgh scrum.

However, with Edinburgh two men down the Blues won the scrum against the head and Xavier Rush crashed over for the equaliser. Blair added the conversion to give the Blues the lead.

Edinburgh, with 13 men, tried to grind down the clock before eventually losing the ball and the Blues counter attacked but to no avail.

HALF TIME CARDIFF BLUES 7 EDINBURGH 5

Despite the conditions both teams tried to run the ball but it was the same story of spilling the ball and failing to hold on.

Edinburgh kicked for corner with penalty and were working there way well into the Blues half.

They were eventually awarded a penalty for coming in from the side and Godman was this time accurate with his kick to put them back in front.

Despite a purple patch by Edinburgh in the Blues' half a good clearance by Nick Macleod saw them back in the Edinburgh twenty two.

John Yapp gave Cardiff hope with ten minutes to go, bursting through tacklers and sparking the crowd to life. He eventually won a penalty that Blair converted to give the Blues the lead for the second time in the match.

It didn't last for long as Edinburgh swiftly worked their way into the Blues twenty two and their number 10, Godman, dropped a goal with only five minutes left on the clock.

A great break by Jamie Roberts down the right wing into the Edinburgh twenty two released Shanklin for a last gasp attack but the ball was again turned over, Edinburgh were awarded a penalty and Cardiff's hopes of coming from behind for a third and final time were washed away.

Cardiff Blues 15 Ben Blair 14 Jamie Roberts 13 Tom Shanklin 12 Dafydd Hewitt 11 Gareth Thomas 10 Nick Macleod 9 Jason Spice 8 Xavier Rush (c) 7 Robin Sowden Taylor 6 Maama Molitika 5 Scott Morgan (60off) 4 Deiniol Jones 3 Gary Powell 2 Gareth Williams 1 John Yapp (70off) 16 Tauf'au Filise (70on) 17 Duane Goodfield 18 Paul Tito (60on) 19 Mark Lewis 20 Richie Rees 21 Rhys Jones 22 Tal Selley

Edinburgh 15 Ben Cairns 14 Andrew Turnbull 13 Nick De Luca 12 John Houston 11 Simon Webster 10 Phil Godman 9 Mike Blair 8 David Callam 7 Ross Rennie 6 Allister Hogg (c) 5 Ben Gissing 4 Matt Mustchin 3 Gavin Kerr 2 Ross Ford 1 Allan Jacobsen 16 Andrew Kelly 17 Augusto Allori 18 Craig Hamilton 19 Roland Reid 20 Ben Meyer 21 David Blair 22 Hugo Southwell

Attendance 6921

SCORERS:
CARDIFF BLUES EDINBURGH

TRIES Rush x 1 Turnbull x 1
PENALTIES Blair x 1 Godman x 1
CONVERSIONS Blair x 1
DROP GOALS Godman x 1